Articles by Pranab Bardhan

Many economists and columnists in the financial press are unaware how unpopular economic reforms are with the public. The supporters of reform and their critics take extreme positions on issues that are sufficiently important for us to engage our respective intelligent opposition in serious conversation. The Left claims the reforms are "anti-people", when in essence it is defending the interests of the small strata of the salaried. The supporters of reforms, on their part, offer less than reasoned arguments in support of privatisation and labour reform, and work themselves into a frenzy about wastage in anti-poverty programmes. Discussion on reform is preoccupied with issues of trade and fiscal policy and financial markets. Reform would have been more popular if it were equally concerned about the appalling governance structure in the delivery of basic social services for the poor.

This paper examines poverty alleviation efforts of West Bengal panchayats, comprising implementation of land reforms and pro-poor targeting of credit, agricultural minikits, employment programmes and fiscal grants. The sample includes 89 villages and covers four successive panchayat administrations. While average levels of poverty alleviation efforts were high, there were significant variations both across and within villages over time. Poverty alleviation efforts within villages improved when land was distributed more equally, the poor became more literate, there were fewer low caste households and local elections were more contested.

All around in the world today many advocates of social justice are in some state of despair. Some of them fear that social justice is a lost cause in a global economy. This paper analyses some of the opportunities and insecurities caused by globalisation and tries to show how a great deal of social justice remains within our grasp, even within the very real external constraints posed by globalisation.

Avoidable Tragedy of the Left in India Pranab Bardhan The left in India has to pay more serious attention to a long tradition in one part of economics, started by a Marxist economist Oskar Lange, where there have been earnest attempts to combine the agility and flexibility of market processes with the egalitarian goals of public ownership and public control over the distribution of surplus. It is possible to devise institutional mechanisms to cope with the serious incentive and agency problems of public ownership without compromising much on egalitarianism.